5 Tips to Keep You from Making a Bad Hire
Posted September 30th, 2019
The interview is one of the most critical parts of your hiring process. It gives you a chance to learn more about the candidates, filling in information that simply wouldn’t fit on a resume. However, if you don’t handle the interview properly, you may be setting yourself up for a bad hiring decision.
When you conduct an interview, your goal is to find the ideal person for the role. Often, this requires you to discover details that you couldn’t learn from the candidate’s resume, so you need to embrace an approach that aligns with that objective. If you want to avoid making a bad hiring decision, here are five interview tips that can help.
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Create a Questions List
A surprising number of hiring managers don’t ask every candidate the same questions. By not having a list in place, you run the risk of missing an important point. Additionally, it can be hard to compare candidates when you don’t gather consistent details throughout the interviews.
While you can certainly ask follow-up questions to get more insight on various points, have a questions list to ensure you ask every job seeker the same things. This method gives you constants for comparisons later and prevents you from missing a critical question.
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Focus on Relevancy
When you create a questions list, make sure each one is highly relevant to the role and the candidate’s ability to perform in the job or fit in with the culture. Asking personal questions in an attempt to make a connection beyond the position is unnecessary, and can actually be a substantial waste of time. By focusing on relevancy when you decide what to ask, you gain insights in areas that better able to help you identify a job seeker who is likely to excel.
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Use Three Types of Questions
An interview should usually consist of three types of questions: open-ended, closed-ended, and leading. With an open-ended question, you are ensuring you get a more in-depth answer, as the candidate can’t reply with a simple “yes” or “no.” Close-ended questions allow for “yes” or “no” responses, making them ideal when you need a clear answer on a specific point regarding a candidates skillset or experience.
With a leading question, you have the ability to learn about how the candidate thinks. Usually, these are behavioral interview questions designed to give you insights regarding a job seeker’s thought processes when faced with scenarios or their interpretation of a past accomplishment.
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Avoid Opinion-Based Questions
Opinion-based questions rarely lead to answers that let you know if a candidate can perform in the role. Instead, use objective questions to learn more about how a job seeker functions on the job, solves problems or otherwise approaches their work.
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Don’t Focus Solely on Education and Training
A candidate’s academic success gives you insights into the skills they possess but doesn’t always let you know how well they would do when faced with real-world scenarios. Unless the job is entry-level to the point that the right education and training is all that is needed to get started, make sure to focus more on their past working experiences and accomplishments to get a better gauge on how capable they are of applying their skills in a relevant way.
Ultimately, by following the five tips above, you can reduce your chances of making a bad hiring decision. If you’d like to learn more, the team at Bayside Solutions can help. Contact us to speak with one of our knowledgeable recruitment specialists today and see how our hiring expertise can benefit you.
